In one week you could know exactly what's wrong with your food or drink product flavour and how to fix it. No guessing, no months of back and forth, just clear answers. That's what the Flavour MOT does and today I'm taking you behind the scenes as a flavour expert.

In my previous blog post, I shared why I created the Flavour MOT and the gap it fills for food and drink brands. Today I'm walking you through the entire process, what analysis I'm doing, what you get and how you can use this professional feedback.

I want to be completely transparent so you know exactly what you're getting.

What Happens When You Book

When you book a Flavour MOT, first thing that happens is you send me information, for example the list of ingredients.

And I need your consumer feedback if you have it. This is really important because I have a trained palate. I worked in a flavour house, trained on flavour lexicon and worked at McVitie's as their flavour specialist.

There are some notes I may be more sensitive to than the average person. There's no point in you changing something in your product if I'm the only person who notices it.

So I need to see what your actual target consumers are tasting, because that gives me the full picture.

Then you send me your product with packaging and your main ingredients separately. I just need 20 grams of each.

Playing Detective with Your Product

This is where it gets interesting because what I do is almost playing detective.

I test your finished product first. And I verify what you're claiming on the label actually matches what I'm tasting.

If your label says chocolate brownie protein shake, does this actually taste like a chocolate brownie? If it says lemon and raspberry, can I taste both?

Then I taste each main ingredient separately and this is where the detective part starts.

If I pick up that your product is very earthy or very bitter or has off-notes, I need to figure out where they're coming from.

Is it one specific ingredient? Is it the combination of different ingredients? Or is it the balance of the recipe overall?

Because sometimes you don't need to change your ingredients or suppliers. Sometimes it's just about rebalancing what you already have. Maybe decreasing one ingredient, increasing another.

But I need to pinpoint exactly where the problem is first.

What I'm Analysing

When I'm tasting your product, I'm looking at everything as a food scientist.

What does it smell like? The flavour, the basic taste. Is it sour, bitter, salty, or umami? Is it balanced? Is anything overpowering or missing?

I also look at mouthfeel and texture. Is it gritty? Smooth? Watery? And the aftertaste. Is there anything that lingers?

I need to taste it multiple times. I keep tasting until I understand exactly what is going on.

I'm also looking at your packaging. Is your labelling correct? Are there any claims that shouldn't be there or claims you should be making? Any food legislation issues?

Because all of that matters when you're selling your product in the FMCG sector.

The Benchmark Product Question

There's something else I look at: market fit and product fit. It's not just about how it tastes, it's about understanding your target consumers and where your product sits in the market.

And there's something I always ask: have you identified a benchmark product?

If you're creating a chocolate protein shake, what chocolate flavour profile are you targeting? Is it a specific chocolate bar? A chocolate brownie from a certain brand? Cocoa powder? Hot chocolate? Dark? Milk? Fruity? Nutty?

Chocolate can mean so many different things.

If you haven't identified your benchmark product, if you haven't decided specifically the flavour profile you want, then you're shooting in the dark.

Part of what I do is help you think through that as part of your flavour strategy.

The Traffic Light System

Once I've done all this analysis, which takes about one week after I receive everything, I create your report using a traffic light system.

Green light is everything working perfectly. Things you should keep. Do not touch anything.

Red light is urgent changes required. Things stopping your product from being successful that need fixing urgently.

Orange light is nice to have improvements. Not critical, but could make your product better.

This is where I include strategy thinking, marketing positioning, target consumer insights, opportunities you may be missing.

Real Example: The Goat Ice Cream

I was at a wedding last year and got talking to a person with a small goat farm making goat milk, goat yogurt, thinking of doing goat ice cream.

First question he asked me was if chocolate and vanilla was a good idea.

I asked him what the goat milk actually tasted like. Surprisingly, he said quite bland.

So I asked him why people are coming to his little farm in the middle of nowhere to buy his goat yogurt. He couldn't answer that question.

Are they coming because he's local or because of unique flavours like verbena? You can find goat milk yogurt in any supermarket. So why coming to him?

Is verbena yogurt his best seller? That's telling you something about his consumer's mindset.

I help you think about positioning. Are there opportunities you're missing? Could high protein work? Are there health claims you could be making?

That's the kind of thinking in the orange light section.

Real Example: The Overpowering Spices

I had this client and when I tasted their product, the spices were completely overpowering. The flavour profile was harsh and unbalanced. And one of the hero flavours on the pack, I couldn't taste it.

In my report, the red light section said reduce these specific spices because they were creating this unbalanced, earthy, harsh flavour profile. Increase the ingredient that was missing and change slightly the flavour profile to fit better overall.

Think about adding creaminess if you have a very harsh product, so you round everything up. And identify a benchmark product, understanding where you are going.

For the orange light section, we had things like considering high protein because it would fit the market. Improve the consumer feedback because some questions were confusing. And thinking about positioning and what problem it solves.

They knew exactly what to keep, what to fix urgently, and what opportunity to explore.

What's Included (And What's Not)

The Flavour MOT gives you expert analysis and clear recommendations, but doesn't include me doing all formulation for you.

If you want to take my recommendations and action them yourself, brilliant. You have everything you need.

But if you need hands-on support, if you want me to do the trials and testing for you, then you have other options. That's my Fix and Choose packages where I handle formulation.

The Flavour MOT gives you clarity quickly. Then you decide how much support you need.

Not everyone needs or can afford a six-month formulation project. But everyone needs to know if their product is tasting the way it should.

Timeline: From Booking to Report

From the moment you book, the whole process takes two to three weeks maximum. But once I have your finished product, information, and ingredient samples, my report takes about one week.

So if you're about to launch, pitch to retailers or investors, or getting negative reviews, you can have answers quickly.

Book Your Flavour MOT Now

I'm officially launching the Flavour MOT and the first 10 people who book get 25% off. Use code MOT26.

Book your Flavour MOT now and use code MOT26 at checkout.

Here's what you'll get:

• Complete product analysis from a food scientist with 10+ years experience
• Detailed tasting notes on flavour profile, aroma, mouthfeel, aftertaste, balance
• Clear identification of where problems come from
• Benchmark product guidance to define your flavour direction
• Recommendations on what to keep, fix urgently, and explore
• Packaging and labelling review
• Actionable next steps

Book your Flavour MOT here and use code MOT26 for 25% off.

Because knowing exactly what's wrong is better than guessing.